Cotton mocks NY Times over claim of nonpartisanship, promises to submit op-eds as test

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) mocked The New York Times after an editor said the paper is “actually not partisan” in explaining the reasons for endorsing Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.

“This election is not about Democrat or Republican,” New York Times editor Mara Gay said on MSNBC. “This is really about right and wrong and saving the soul of the nation.”

Cotton responded to the endorsement and Gay’s comments during an interview on “Fox & Friends” on Wednesday

“I mean, what a joke,” Cotton chuckled. “Do these people have any self-awareness?”

“But if they’re really not a partisan newspaper, I have got news for the New York Times: I will be submitting several new op-eds in the coming days that they can publish as well,” he added.

In June, Cotton wrote an op-ed for the Times advocating the deployment of the U.S. military to American cities to help control violent protests.

The piece garnered severe public backlash from other writers at the publication, with longtime op-ed editor James Bennet resigning from the publication as a result.

Publisher A.G. Sulzberger cited “a significant breakdown in our editing processes” that prompted Bennet’s exit on June 7.

Cotton has since been among the paper’s most vocal critics on Capitol Hill.

The New York Times:

Explicit Chinese propaganda: no problem.

Op-ed from a Republican Senator supported by most Americans: Fire the editor! https://t.co/BP14LbFbx6

— Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) July 23, 2020